An Open Letter To The Ministry of the United Church of God

An Open Letter To The Ministry of the United Church of God

(First of all…Change the name.)

I used to be one of you. I spent 26 years watching human beings posture, pronounce, declare, defend, ridicule, rebel, on again and off again their way through the pages of the Bible. I have to say how nice it is not to be embroiled still in this current round of “nothing new under the sun.” It wore me out as a younger man and certainly would make me question if I had wasted my life time as an older man were I still hanging on to majoring in the minors and the very small box of how all of the Churches of God view their world. 

That being said, you’re not going to fix this. Why not?  Because no two people are the same and while a “strong” (bully) leader may get outward compliance, most people who disagree on this or that approach, idea, speculation, fact or fiction do so because we all filter our world of perceptions differently for the most part.  

I’d like to take you on a short journey through the politics of the New Testament so you can see what I know you don’t see and that I never saw while soaking in the very texts. I will assume you know your Bible, so pardon me if I don’t reference every thought. As Bible readers and perhaps piously convicted, let me show you where I also believe you, like myself in the past, are marginally informed about such things. 

Do you understand that The Apostle Paul and Luke really really didn’t like Peter nor did they think he should ever lead anything in the Church of God? Do you understand that the story of Annanias and Sapphira, in Acts, so often used to put fear into the brethren is, in fact, a cruel joke on Peter and a message to Paul’s followers to disregard his leadership?  It’s true.  That’s how writers sent their coded messages to the members.  When they read that account, (and it never happened literally. Romans just can’t let you kill people in your Church without an investigation.)  they understood the joke. Here you have a man, Peter the Great, striking down two misguided members for saying one thing (giving all) and yet doing another (holding back). Ahem, excuse me. Everyone knew that Peter ALSO had said he’d do one thing, (never leave Jesus) and did another (denied him).  So simple a message. Don’t follow Peter. It was a slam against Peter and a message to the followers of Paul. Pretty cool actually.

The community of John’s believers also had little use for Peter. Did you realize that every time in John, where John refers to Peter, he sandwiches him between two references to Judas. It’s true. Judas-Peter-Judas.   What was that message to the followers of John?  Simple…Judas betrayed Jesus and Peter denied him. No difference, so don’t follow him.  John even tries to make a fool out of Peter in the race to the tomb by noting that Peter came in second in the race, ran into the tomb but somehow couldn’t come up with understanding it. John, however, understood clearly.  Lesson…follow John not stupid Peter.

However, it all worked out nicely because in the Bible, the one you over read at times yet miss the content, it all works out for Peter. You see, the Gospel of John has two endings.  Chapter 20 is the original and Chapter 21 has been added, years later no doubt to reinstate Peter. John’s community of believers lost the fight against Peter. Someone tacked what may or may not be the missing chapter at the end of Mark (a book that has no good ending) on to the already ended Gospel of John to tell the world Peter is ok after all. 

I know you know how Paul had to withstand Peter to his face over Peter’s withdrawing from the table when some of James’s men showed up.  Paul makes it sound like Peter had a problem with Gentiles. But what Peter really had a problem with was Paul. It was obvious to Peter that Paul was not following the rules he agreed to follow in Acts 15 about telling Gentiles to abstain from meats offered to idols.  I bet there was plenty of it on the table that night. After all, Paul told the Corinthians that “we know that the idol is nothing, but in all men is not that knowledge.” Paul was slamming his fellow Apostles and really not inforcing any such rule in his churches.  Peter was not reacting to any Gentiles at the table or any issue of meat being unclean. He was reacting to Paul’s obvious change of heart in teaching what they all agreed to teach Gentiles (The Noahide Rules) in Acts 15.  

So what have learned?  Well…Paul really dislikes Peter. Peter really mistrusts Paul. John really thought Peter was stupid.  Luke really mistrusted Peter. James really mistrusted Paul and all of them had different views on the way to be or not to be as Christians. 

If you thought, as I once did, and I know you still do, that all these guys got along and all believed the same thing, you’re going to have a rude awakening in the world of the New Testament politics and upheaval in the Church. 

Let’s take one final journey into this world of “but we all have to speak the same thing.”  

 I never understood the Book of Galatians and just how self centered the Apostle Paul was until I really read it for what it really says. Clearly, Paul was the self appointed head of the Gentile Christian Church while James, Peter and John headed up the Jewish version. Of the 24 times Paul is called an Apostle in the NT, he calls himself one 22 of those times….hmmm. Seems the Jerusalem faction could not come to label Paul and Apostle. The other two were by Luke who was Paul’s apologist in Acts endeavoring to make it seem like they were all on the same page theologically even thought they weren’t.  

I’d go so far to say that it is the Apostle Paul that got booted out of the Ephesian Church in Revelation as one who said he was an Apostle but was not and this was why Paul lamented that ‘all those in Asia have forsaken me,” but I spare you.  He meant, all Jewish Christians forsook him.  You’d think that if “all” forsook you, you might want to ask why intead of blaming them.  But Paul was a bit of a loon at times. 

But on to Galatians chapters 1-2.  Hold on to your Mitre’s

 

 ¹Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ²and all the brothers with me,
      To the churches in Galatians

So first of all, we see that Paul was not a team player. His version of the Gospel and Jesus came in visions and was hallucinatory in nature. Paul never asked others about what to believe about Jesus. He was the Alpha and Omega on these issues and had a direct line to God and Jesus.

 ³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

 ⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! ⁹As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

So aside from Paul saying somewhere, “when cursed, we bless and do not curse” Paul curses and condemns this bunch. These were the Jewish Christians as in Peter, James and John. 

 ¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 

Hey hold on here!  Is this the same Paul who said that he was all things to all men so that he might save some?  Is the Paul who said, to a Jew I became a Jew, to a Gentile, I became a Gentile?  Which is it and how much can you trust a guy like this anyway?  I spare you.

 ¹¹I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. ¹²I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

So at least we know Paul didn’t go the the school of James or bothered to ask those who actually had met Jesus in real life (according to the story) what Jesus taught. It’s ok. Paul never quotes Jesus or knows nothing of the Gospel Jesus anyway. He never met the man. From this we also learn that Paul thought all the other, as in Peter, James and John, made it all up. 

 ¹³For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵But when God, who set me apart from birth^[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, ¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. 

No humility here. Forget the Damascus Road story in Acts. Paul, like Jeremiah and Jesus was called from the womb.  End of discussion. God revealed Jesus in Paul.  Notice that Paul admits he consults with no man nor did he go up to see anyone who was an Apostle before him.  Sounds a lot like your old school chums who now have their own splinters doesn’t it.  This account of Paul directly contradicts Luke’s Damascus Road story, which also contradicts itself three times in Acts. 

 ¹⁸Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter^[b] and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. ²⁰I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. ²¹Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. ²²I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." ²⁴And they praised God because of me. 

Paul is real good on “me, me, me”   The reason we know Paul did not write Hebrews is this very factor in Paul’s writings is completely missing in Hebrews. Paul also often resorts to “I lie not,” so we know he was or was being accused of it.

Galatians 2

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

 ¹Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. ²I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. ³Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. ⁴This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. ⁵We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

Forget that in Acts Paul is hustled down to see the Apostles in Jerusalem after he recovers his sight. So finally, afters years, Paul goes to see “those who seemed to be leaders.”  “Seemed”?  You do know he is talking about Peter, James and John of the Jewish church don’t you?  False Brethren to Paul were those stinker Jewish Christians under Peter, James and John.

 ⁶As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. ⁷On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles,^[c] just as Peter had been to the Jews.^{[d] 8}For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. ⁹James, Peter^[e] and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. ¹⁰All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. 

Did you catch that?  “Seemed to be important,” “whatever (or whoever) they were (they were Peter, James and John) makes NO difference to me.”  No difference?  Whoa. They added NOTHING to my message?  Double whoa. 

Now get ready for this one.  “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars…”  Gulp.  Reputed?  Are the lights going on here for you? Are these guys getting along?  I think not. 

Paul Opposes Peter 

 ¹¹When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. ¹²Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. ¹³The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

I vote this is Paul’s side of the story. Oh that we had Peter’s. I suspect Peter saw that Paul was not adhering to the rules Paul agreed to in Acts 15 and the meat, while great meat for all, had come from Pagan altars in town.

So you see, there truly is nothing new under the sun. The early NT church was awash in conflict and controversy amongst themselves. So in this sense, all the COG’s really are the true Church. At least they act like them as seen, when you remove your, through the “all is well” filter, in the NT.

It is sad to me how many decades this issue of government in the Church causes rebellion in the body. I certainly don’t miss it. My phone doesn’t ring often but when it does it is not some angry or confused soul demanding I stand up for the one right way which depends on who you favor. 

What is more sad is the dis-illusionment the average, very sincere, church member has to put up with as they seek yet again to find the one true church.  They won’t ever find one I fear. Granted, they won’t see anything but harmony between Peter, James, John and Paul, but you are supposed to be able to show them what is and not what you wish was.

I am sorry for the pain of upheaval. I have had my fair share and still do. It rips at one’s heart and soul.  My wish for you is to find some reality in your misperceptions of the Bible and how it “should” or “must “ be understood. Remember, I know how you think. I was one of you. But the box you and I both got in years ago because it was the one true box, is much much bigger than you think. I also know you don’t really have the freedom, except privately hoping no one finds out, to examine this.

 I hope I have helped just a few to see that the entire New Testament was one huge “Fiery Trial” and the fire was between the key players..Peter, James, John and Paul. I know how you have been trained to filter out what some parts and players in the NT were really saying, or to cover it up with smoke and mirrors so it still fits the group think.  But it is ripping you apart and I’d like to suggest you invite Rodney King to speak to you his one short famous line…”Can’t we all just get along?”  Beats a four hour sermon on “and yes Brethren, I am that Apostle.”   I love that line in you know whose sermon on “How I got to be an Apostle. ..send it in.”

Regards

Dennis C Diehl

Former one of you. 

Email Dennis 

Remember, It's A Sin Not To Vote!

Get out and vote on Tuesday!

Otherwise you could end up looking like this:

 

 

 

 

Find Your Polling Station With the This Link

An Example of Integrity and Humility that COG Ministers Do NOT Have

While this is non-COG related, in a unique way it is. Here is a courageous video of a mega church pastor in Georgia. This man has balls! Something far too many ministers in Armstrongism do NOT have.

If some of the COG ministers had real integrity and humility they too might be talking like this. God knows that some of the splinter group ministers/elders/deacons are just like Pastor Swilley!  Even HWA referred to one man running a medium size Armstrongite splinter cult as the "...most effeminate minister the church has ever had."  We had a traveling long-winded evangelist who was seen by many Ambassador students in gay bars.
There has been the Atlanta preacher Eddie Long in the news recently.  We all watched while Ted Haggard created his own debacle (and STILL does to the day).  In the COG we even had the story about GTA that has been around for decades:

from the 1996 Ambassador Report

A confidential source in the Chicago area, a former WCG member who is gay, recently explained to me what is believed to be the origin of Garner Ted's sexual escapades with women and girls. As reported to me, when Garner Ted was a young man, he apparently was living with another young man in a gay relationship. When his father, Herbert, found out about it he yanked GTA out of this gay relationship and commanded him never to participate in such a life-style ever again. So long as Garner Ted remained away from gay involvements, Herbert Armstrong looked the other way in regard to GTA's many heterosexual involvements. This long-established, family-based behavioral programming may account for the constant denial of sexual misconduct by GTA in spite of the extensive documentation of his lifelong problem.

 

"Those that bark out scriptures know the least about it!"

His wife speaks around the 48 minute mark.  The video is a little over an hour long and 

well worth watching in it's entirety

bishopjimswilley on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Swilley, who created the Church In The Now some 25 years ago, is a divorced father of four. But he's known he's gay since he was a boy, says the Rockdale County man of the cloth, and even his wife Debye — whom he divorced earlier this year — knew when they got married (!). The couple kept it a secret for more than two decades, but Jim says Debye recently pushed him to share his story.

The pastor made the announcement to his congregation two weeks ago (yes, it takes time for some stories to trickle), with his family in the audience and decided to come out now after witnessing the rash of gay youths killing themselves. One Internet forum poster says that unlike Atlanta's Long (whom Swilley won't speak about), Swilley has not used the pulpit to denigrate gays: "For those of you familiar with Church In the Now, while never discussing his own sexuality, you know that Swilley has always preached a message of inclusion, love and abundance for all God's children. Bishop Swilley has been asked to step down as Bishop, but will remain as Pastor."

 ----------

"Bishop Jim Swilley of Church In the Now of Conyers, announced to his congregation tonight that he is gay. He has been the pastor of Church In the Now since 1985, and has been married to his second wife for 21 years and is the father of four.

For those of you familiar with Church In the Now, while never discussing his own sexuality, you know that Swilley has always preached a message of inclusion, love and abundance for all God's children. Bishop Swilley has been asked to step down as Bishop, but will remain as Pastor.

Encouraged by the recent rash of G&L teen suicides, he decided to make his congregation aware of his sexual preference. I say sexual preference because he's made it clear that he does not intend to live a homosexual lifestyle (in that he has chosen to be celibate for the rest of his life). Knowing of his sexual preference, yet fully supporting him, his wife left him more than a year ago. However, she was in attendance at tonight's service, and spoke vigorously in support and love for her ex-husband, her childrens' father.

I absolutely support Bishop Swilley and his courage to speak his truth from the pulpit. As someone said recently said in the wake of the Eddie Long scandal, "it didn't take a scandal to bring me out of the closet." This is true of Bishop Swilley. While it is reasonable to consider whether or not the New Birth (which is a neighboring church) scandal influenced his decision, at the end of the day, Swilley made a decision to be completely honest with his congregation about who he is and invite them to continue to follow his message of God's love for every one.

Happy Hallow'en to Spanky, Six-Pack and The Two Witlesses

Soon after WCG sold the Pasadena property 

the new owners did a Halloween "House of Horror's" on the campus.  Little did they know that was the actual state of affairs given the legacy of the church by that time...

So in honor of Hallow'en and the continuing loony tunes in charge of three of the sillier splinter cults we decided to carve some pumpkins.

These pumpkins were carved for Six-Pack McFlurry 

in honor of his arrest for public drunkenness 

and for trying to bribe a Peace Officer with twenty Five dollars 
to let him go

I tried to find a scary picture of Six-Pack 

worshiping the Great Pumpkin, 

but this is just as scary...

These are seductively displayed for 

Spanky Merrydeath.  

Get that Spokesmen Club paddle out!  

Spank me daddy!

These pumpkins were carved after listening to 

The Two Witless Witnesses

preaching  yet another three hour sermon on prophecy 

that has 

FAILED!

Mrs. Weinerdude looks on in horror

(aka WeinerDude - Ronnie Weinland and his Second Witness Wife)

God knows the Horror you have brought to thousands of members lives with your failed prophecies, outright lies, sexual obsessions, and just plain WEIRD ideas make all three of you this years perfect Halloween pupmpkins!  :-)

HAPPY 

HALLOW'EN!!!!

United Crisis Ready For Explosion? Is It Really the 'Liberals' or the Uber-Conservatives Causing the Issue?

More information hit the Internet today concerning the current crisis in UCG.  There are posts about the Sabbath Papers, posts about those pesky liberals seeking to destroy the 'faith once delivered', and lot's of details on the Chilean family that precipitated this crisis because their day care center operating on the 'sabbath'.  The big headline though was this one:

UNITED CRISIS NEARS EXPLOSION!

These postings are all screaming about the liberals in UCG and how THEY are causing this crisis.  You have to wonder after reading this stuff as to who is actually causing the   problems.  Is it really the UCG brass or is it the legalistic Pharisees crowing about how much better they are at keeping the law.  There sure  is a LOT of boasting going on in their postings.

I am no fan of UCG or the crooks running it.  I saw most of them in action while in Pasadena. One can hope that maybe some of them finally are getting their heads out of HWA's holy rear-end and actually stepping back to take a look at what they teach.  I really am not going to hold my breathe on that one though. But one can wish.

Instead you quickly see how divisive those who are seeking to hold on to the old ways really are.  They are the legalistic Pharisees that want to take members with them as they try to form a new splinter group off of UCG.  They will soon be the new wounded martyrs.  "We stood up for God's word and look what happened to us!  UCG kicked us out and disfellowshipped us for preaching the truth. blah, blah, blah."



Sabbath Issues

Analysis of Sabbath Papers

United Crisis Near Explosion

When reading the Shining Light Blog more and more it sounds like a bunch of gumpy Pharisees sitting around bitching about those disgusting people Jesus is having dinner with.  They dwell in the letter of the law instead of grace.  They live in a  world of black and white ignoring the fact that Scripture is NOT black and white.

A Pharisee is a sanctimonious, hypocritical, self-righteous heretic who practices and advocates strict observance of external forms and ceremonies of religion or conduct without regard to the spirit. He makes a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, and righteousness. He is confident of his own righteousness, and is smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinion and behavior of others. He pretends to have moral, religious beliefs and principles which he does not possess.

In simple terms…A Pharisee falsely thinks he is a god himself as he pretends to do God’s bidding, enforces God’s laws, knows God’s mind, and has the imagined authority of God in his hands His power is gained by lording over the humble, fearful, sinners who dare not even consider walking toward God because of their dirty transgressions and lowly state.